One of the main symbols of the Lake Baikal is nerpa (freshwater small seal founded only in the Lake Baikal). That’s why the most popular local souvenir is plush nerpa. You can find plush nerpa at each of numerous souvenir shops in Irkutsk and Listvianka. Another very popular Baikal souvenir (especially at the East coast of the Lake Baikal) if small Buddha figurines made of wood, stone, ceramics. Great authentic souvenirs are also traditional Buryat and Old Believers wooden dolls.
The most popular Russian souvenir is well-known Matryoshka (Little Matron) – wooden doll decorated with paintings with the same figures of a smaller size inside of it. The Matryoshka Doll was designed in 1890 by Sergei Malyutin, Russian painter of the Abramtsevo circle, and made by Vassily Zvyozdochkin, the best doll master from Sergiev Posad. The idea of the Matryoshka was suggested by similar Japanese Fukurokuju doll brought by wife of Savva Mamontov from the Hokkaido Island. Matryoshka made an impression at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris and soon became one of the main symbols of Russia in the world. That’s why we are not sure that you would be understood quite well by you familiars if you return from Russia without Matryoshka.
Rostov is famous for its enamelwork that won a lot of prizes on the international exhibitions. The craft of enamelwork was known in Russia since XII c.. The art of enamel painting especially flourished in Rostov in the XIX c.. First it served for church needs. Enamel was used to decorate church utensils, miniature icons, crosses, bindings of the Gospels etc.. In 1960 the Rostov Enamel Factory was founded. The Rostov enamel is famous for its unique technology of manufacture. It has a multilayer coating and after further kilning Rostov enamel gains specific qualities which prevent it from darkening and become waterproof.
Palekh is an ancient Russian village that together with two other villages Mstera and Kholui is the birthplace of world-renowned miniature lacquered boxes that resemble wonderful flowers. The boxes present small masterpieces that are very expressive in their execution. The skills of Palekh craftsmen are transmitted from generation to generation and are zealously kept in secret. One of the most mysterious secrets is secret of Palekh colors. Palekh craftsmen use only natural ingredients in their paints like egg emulsion.
Small town of Gus-Khrustalny (Crystal Goose) is famous with the fine pieces of glass-work. Usually you can find similarities with the goose bird in the original products made by local craftsmen. This production was founded in the mid-XVIII c. when the first cut-glass enterprise was built on the bank of the forest Gus River by Akim Maltsov and development of national glass manufacture and famous dynasty of glass industrialists began. The mostly known representative of this dynasty Yury Nechaev-Maltsov was the major private donor to the Pushkin Fine Art Museum in Moscow.
Gzhel is a Russian style of blue and white ceramics. The ceramics are named after the village of Gzhel, where they are produced. The name is associated with the pottery in the 14th century. The pottery was painted solid white with distinctive blue designs. Nowadays Gzhel produces tea, coffee and dinner sets, samovars, vases, candlesticks, clocks, lamps, statuettes and figurines of more than 2500 varieties.
Khokhloma is the name of a Russian wood painting handicraft style. It is named after Khokhloma village in Nizhny Novgorod district where this style firstly appeared. Typical colors for Khokhloma is a combination of red, black, and gold. It has curved and vivid flower, berry and leaf patterns. Often Firebird, the figure from the Russian fairytale, is also depicted. There are two main factories in Russia that produce Khokhloma tableware, utensils (mostly spoons), furniture, souvenirs etc.
Evenks (people of the Tungusic group) is one of the main aboriginal peoples of the Krasnoyarsk Territory which populated vast area of East Siberia and the Russian Far East from the Taymyr Peninsula in the north-west till the Amur River in the south-east. That’s why in souvenir shops and kiosks of Krasnoyarsk located in the south part of East Siberia you can find souvenirs associated with northern reindeer-breeder people of Evenk: articles made of stone, rein-deer bones, fur and skins (amulets, decorations, elements of national clothing, funny figurines).
Drinks, beverages and varenye (traditional whole-fruit preserve widespread in East Europe and in the Orient) made of different local wild berries (cowberry, huckleberry, honeysuckle, great bilberry) and herbs (cowberry tree, wild rose, feverfew, coltsfoot) is great authentic, natural and ecologic gastronomic souvenir from Siberia. We recommend you also cedar nuts, cedar oil and unusual and very delicious varenye made of young cedar cones or cones of other taiga conifers.
The well-known symbols of Yakutia are diamonds, gold and… mammoths so jewelry , articles of mammoth tusks and also mammoth figurines made of different materials are the best souvenirs from Yakutia.
The next authentic local souvenir recommended is articles of charoite. It is rare mineral with very nice lilac colour found in Yakutia only and named for the Chara River. Unique local tradition is Yakut birch embroidery. Articles of reindeer fur, skin and bones of reindeer, the elements of Yakut and Even national clothes are also very good authentic local souvenirs.
The best souvenirs from all regions of Siberia and the Russian Far East are authentic handicrafts of wood, birch, semi-precious stones and fur, skin and bones of reindeer and marine animals made by representatives of local aboriginal peoples but articles manufactured at local undertakings are also good). Your guides will suggest you the best places where you can purchase original, natural and qualitative local souvenirs.
One of the main materials for souvenirs made by Karelian craftsmen is wood. Nice and solid wood of the Karelian birch, local variety of silver or warty birch is very popular as well as birch bark. At souvenir shops, kiosks and also at local markets you can find a lot of excellent articles (both handmade and factory-made): funny figurines of men, animals and fair characters (different varieties of materialized forest, water and home spirits from Finno-Ugric and Slavic folklore).
Mineral of shungite is named after the village of Shunga in Karelia. It is a shiny black mineral consisting of amorphous carbon and highly dispersed graphite. The healing properties of the stone have been known since the XVIII c.. Shungite is a mineral which has no analogue for its healing qualities and other diversity of properties. There is the Shungite Room in Petrozavodsk specially designed for shungite relaxation. Articles made of original Karelian mineral (figurines, balls, pyramids, decoratively manufactured pieces of shungite) are very good authentic souvenirs from Karelia.
Located in Medvezhyegorsk town (186 km from Petrozavodsk) factory produces a variety of articles decorated with traditional Karelian embroidery. You can find the products of the factory (clothing, bedding, towels etc.) practically at any souvenir shop in Karelia. Characteristic peculiarity of the traditional Karelian embroidery is very laconic colors (combination of the white and the red only) and quite simple subjects (geometrical figures and natural motives). Art of the famous Russian avant-garde of the early XX c. was largely inspired by the motives and ideas of Russian traditional decorative art. We are sure that products of Medvezhyegorsk factory is very good authentic souvenir from Karelia and from Russia.
The Nizhny Novgorod Region has always been renowned for its folk crafts – the Khokhloma and the Gorodets multicolored gilt-shining paintings on wood, the Balakhna lace, the Pavlovo filigree.
In Kazan you have a chance to purchase products of traditional Tatar handicrafts (wood-carving, articles made of stone, jewelry, wood and rag dolls, embroidery, ceramics with fancy Oriental ornament) and elements of Tatar national clothes (footwear with multicolor leather mosaics, local varieties of traditional for Muslim-populated regions tubetei and fez).
When making a stop in Kazan you can purchase traditional Tartar products. The most iconic Tartar dessert is chak-chak. This dessert was originally served at weddings and festivities. It is a flour sweetness made from deep-fried dough pieces mixed with honey syrup sometimes decorated with nuts and dried fruit. One more Tartar delicacy is kazylyk. It is horse meat sausage commonly prepared cured, spiced with cumin and coriander.
Traveling by Russian water ways you will very often see at the piers locals offering different products for cruise passengers. There are different handmade or factory-made souvenirs and also different provisions. You have a chance to purchase very interesting original and authentic souvenirs there. Fresh smoked fish and home made beer might be very good but you should remember that nobody guarantees quality of food-stuff bought outside of the motor ship. From our side we can guarantee only good and various meals on the board of your motor ship and at the restaurants where lunches are arranged.
We kindly pay your attention that a lot of architectural monuments on the itineraries of the Volga River and Moscow-St. Petersburg cruises are functioning churches and monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church. Besides your programme in Kazan includes visiting of mosques. That’s why we kindly ask you observe all regulations and traditions visiting such objects. Visiting of churches, functioning monasteries and mosques in shorts and t-shirts is not permitted. Ladies should have skirts below the knee and head scarfs. Usually you can hire all these garments on spot free of charge.
We kindly remind you that the Transsiberian Rail Road goes through Irkutsk so you can successfully combine Transsiberian Rail Road tour with the Lake Baikal cruise.
We kindly recommend you to be attentive for information published by cruise direction. Every evening the direction of your cruise put up a notice with exact program for the next day near the reception. All changes of program are broadcasted by radio so we also recommend you take your radio on.
